Dessert Melons

Cantaloupe melons are named for the town of Cantalupo near Rome, where they are supposed to have been first grown in Europe. They are among the most fragrant and delicious of melons, typically small, round, with a rough surface fissured into segments. The French Charentais is very small, has a yellow skin and orange flesh. The Ogen, named for the Israeli kibbutz where it was developed, has a yellow skin with green stripes rather than fissures, and green flesh. Galia is a related variety. Sweetheart has bright scarlet flesh. Besides varieties with green or salmon-coloured flesh, there are several with creamy-white flesh.